Hair curler



SePf- 2, 1941- I N. w. NoRMAN 2,254,239

HAIR CURLER Filed May 24, 1939 Patented Sept. 2, 1941 UNiE HAIR CURLER N. William Norman, River Forest, Ill., assignor of one-half to Edward A. Grange, Chicago, Ill.`

Application May 24, 1939, Serial No. 275,511

6 Claims.

This invention relates particularly to a hair curling device adapted for home use to enable a woman to put a permanent curl in her hair uinassisted. After human hair has been given what is known as a permanent wave, it continuesvto grow out and short hair appears which requires treatment before it is necessary to go to the expense and trouble of getting another complte permanent wave. The present device is designed to facilitate that operation.

The primary object of the invention is toprovide a simple and relatively inexpensive device that can be operated easily and. Without danger.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple winding spool and protective cover for enclosing the curl during a steaming operation.

Another object of the invention is to. provide a tensioning device of simple construction which will assure the hair being properly stretched around the spool while the hair is being wound into a curl and will assist in holding the hair in tensioned condition during the heat treatment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple fastener for attaching the end of a hank of hair to the spool and providing a simple pivotal and rotatable connection between the cover-member and spool so that the device can easily be closed into winding position.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the spool and cover device in closed position; Figure 2 is a similar View of the same device in opened position with the opened position of the snap fastener of the spool shown in dotted lines; Figure 3 is a broken elevational view of the heating unit which impales the knob and spool so as to heat the spool-member; Figure 4 is a plan view of the device shown in Figure l; Figure 5 is a sectional View, taken as indicated at line 5 of Figure 4; Figure 6 is a broken longitudinal sectional View, taken as indicated at line 6 of Figure 4; Figure '7 is `a sectional view, taken as indicated at line 1 of Figure 4; and Figure 8 is a sectional View, taken as indicated at line 8 of Figure 4.

-In the embodiment illustrated, A designates a cover-member provided with a swivel member A'; B, a hollow metal spool provided with a snap fastener B', and a knob B2; and C', an electrical heating device adapted to fit into the spool B. l

The cover-member A is preferably made of sheet metal and is of semi-circular, open-ended Construction. The edges of the metal are turned inwardly,v as indicated at 9, so thatA no sharp edges are eiiposed. An ornamental bead I merely serves to make the device more rigid. As best shown in Figures v4 and 7, one edge of the cover-member is turned inwardly to provide a resilient lip II which acts as a tensioning device when h'aii' is Wound Varound the spool within the cover-member. It is essential to the successful operation of theprocess that the hair be tightly stretched around the spool and this tensioning device assures this and also that the hair will be distributed evenly along the spool. A pair of dome-shaped buttons l2 is lstruck inwardly in the cover-member so as to snap over the circular shank I3 of the knob B2 and yieldingly holdn :the device in closed position. The knob also acts as'a friction device to prevent the spool fromunwinding. The swivel member members I4 and I5 which serves as a journal for a head IB of the spool B. vThe swivel member is hinged to the cover-member by means of a pivot I1.

The spool B comprises a tubular member having one end fixed to the head I6 by means of a pivot member I8 `which also holds one end of the keeper B in position. The keeper B is equipped at its free end with a linger piece I9 and is adapted to snap around the spool B. The free end of the spool is equipped with a heat insulating hollow knob B2 which enables the spool to be rotated by hand. The knob has an opening communicating with the center of the spool so that the heating element C may be inserted therethrough,

The heating element C is of known construction and has ia metal tube 20 containing heating, resistance wire which is connected up through a heat insulating handle 2| to a current supply plug member 22. The device is designed, preferably, so that it Will not attain a temperature in excess of 440 F.

It is a well known fact that the curls or waves are the result of iiattening of the hair. If the hair be Wound under tension While it is given the heat treatment, a flattening results. In the operation of the present device a protective clip (not shown) is snapped around a hank of hair close to the scalp so that the hair will not be pulled out of the scalp. The clip usually is covered with rubber and also helps to prevent steam and heat from contacting the scalp. Before Winding the hair, a liquid is applied to the hair, which is a softening agent and opens up the hard scaly surface of the hair shaft, and then the end of a hank of hair is clasped against the spool by means of the fastener B' and the device swung into the cover-member A. By rotating the knob B2 the hair is stretched and drawn tightly around the spool as the result of cooperation with the tensioning device Il. The heating element C is then inserted into the device and held there for a period of from three to six minutes.

During the heating operation the cover forms a steam chamber which retains the heat and helps to provide an equal distribution of heat over the length of the hair to be curled. If desired, a notch may be provided on the heating element C so that it will set in position without being held manually during the heating operation. Preferably two of the curling devices are provided so that after the heat is turned oi and the curl removed from the device, it may be allowed to cool while the user applies the other device to the next curl without loss of time. It may be noted that the hair is kept under tension during the heating operation by the tensioning device Il and also by the knobs l2 bearing agains the shank I3. Both of these devices resist unwinding until the operator is ready to open the device.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, for some modications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A hair curling device comprising: an arcuate cover-member; a spool pivotally and rotatably secured to said cover-member, said spool being hollow and adapted to receive a heating element; and tensioning-means on said covermem ber yieldingly urged towards the spool to stretch hair being wound thereon.

CFI

2. A device as specied in claim 1, in which the spool is provided with a pivotally mounted spring catch adapted to snap around said spool and attach the end of a hank of hair thereto.

3. A device as specified in claim 1, in which the tensioningmeans comprises a resilient lip formed integrally with said cover-member and disposed so as to press yieldingly on hair wound on said spool within the cover-member.

4. A hair curling device comprising: a semicircular, open-ended, sheet metal cover-member having a resilient inwardly turned presser-arm; a swivel member hinged in one end of said covermember; a metal spool-member having one end journalled in said swivel member and provided at the other end with a nger knob, said spool being hollow to receive a heating element; means on said spool for attaching the end of a hank of hair thereto; and friction-means for yieldingly resisting rotation of the spool within the cover-member.

5. A device as specied in claim 4, in which the friction-means comprises a pair of dome- Shaped bosses struck into the cover-member so as to snap over a round shank of the finger knob and confine the spool within said cover-member.

6. In a hair curling device: a semi-circular, open-ended cover-member; a swivel member hinged within one end of said cover-member; a hollow metal spool-member having one end journalled in said swivel member and provided at the other end with a heat insulating knob; a heating element of suicient length to impale said knob and metal spool, and conduct heat to said spool; means on said spool for attaching a hank of hair thereto; and tensioning-means for cooperating with the spool to stretch hairbeing wound thereon within the cover-member.

N. WILLIAM NORMAN. 

